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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: calf · degree · root · object · stem · bat · safe · kid

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bat — the animal
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. kid — to tease
  5. root — of a word
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. degree — temperature
  9. object — to protest
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. object — an aim
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. root — the cause
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. root — of a plant
  17. degree — an amount
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. stem — to come from
  22. object — a thing
  23. kid — child
  24. bat — for baseball

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com